Vienna Palace had just received the good news of Ava's capture when Franz hadn't even had time to rejoice before bad news followed right on its heels.
Franz didn't care about the reasons provided by the Russians. The massacre had become a fact, and it was too difficult to keep a secret with so many participants involved. What was needed now was to manage the aftermath.
If this had happened at another time, it wouldn't have mattered. The reputation of the Russian bear was already poor, and adding the nickname "Butcher" wouldn't make much difference.
Massacres rarely happened in Europe, but similar actions were common. On the surface, looting seemed more civilized than massacres, but often, looting resulted in almost the same consequences. With all the food plundered, how were the people to live?
